Athletico-PR hosts Internacional in the first leg of the Copa do Brazil finals. The match will be played on Thursday, September 12th at Arena da Baixada (Curitiba)
Athletico Paranaense is very strong in its artificial field in Curitiba. Statistics will confirm it: 3 wins in the last 4 games at Baixada, as well as only one loss in the last seven home matches of the Brazilian Cup, with 4 victories in the process. The shape of the team is good. In the last match of Serie A, Atletico did not lose to very strong Santos away (1: 1), and the coach used the reserve. Before that game and the victory over Gremio, Furacao has already beaten International on July 15 (1-0).
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The Reds are very similar to Athletico in that they are very strong in their field, Beira-Rio. However, Internacional earned only four of overall 30 points in away matches of Serie A. In the last 4 games, Inter played only in the home arena (3-1-0), but it certainly lost in the two last away games. Apart from the failure with Flamengo (2:0), the Reds lost to the debutant of Serie A, Goias (2:1). Obviously, Hellmann will eliminate any risks and try not to lose in the most difficult away match, leaving the solution to the question for a return game in Porto Alegre.
Athletico proved that it not only made the game vertical instantly, using interceptions and space. The team attacks very well positionally. If you want, it is such a Brazilian Tottenham attacking in all five vertical directions, and the flanks of Tiago’s team work wonderfully. It will very difficult for the wings of Inter to resist Rony and Nikao. Guerrero was not allowed to go to the Peru national team, but it is difficult to count on the goal of Inter’s attacking veteran. The visitors will play with a very low center of gravity, so overall performance in the match will drop. Besides, Athletico conceded only 1 goal in the last five home matches against Brazilian teams. The territory factor in this match will be a key one. I predict the victory of the hosts in the non-scoring match, as it happened in three of the last 4 meetings of these teams in Curitiba.
Prediction for the match: Athletico-PR to win and Under 3.5 goals scored
